I'll Be Right By Your Side
by Y2J's Princess
Summary: When Hunter beats and rapes Stephanie, will anybody be there to find and help her?
1. Default Chapter

Authors Note: Major violence in this chapter. I don't own any of the characters. The lyrics belong to Avril Lavigne ( I didn't put the whole song in here )  
  
"I'm standing on a bridge  
  
I'm waiting in the dark  
  
I thought that you'd be here by now  
  
There's nothing but the rain  
  
No footsteps on the ground  
  
I'm listening but there's no sound"  
  
Stephanie stood outside in the cold weather waiting for Hunter to give her a ride to the hotel. She was starting to consider finding somebody else to give her a ride. She didn't know how much longer she could stand being out in this cold weather. After a few moments, she saw Hunter's figure come out of the building. When he got up to her, she stomped her foot and said, "What took you so long Hunter? It's fucking freezing out here! What the hell is wrong with you? You knew I was out here waiting for you!"  
  
Hunter wasn't in the mood to listen to Stephanie's screeching voice. With anger overpowering him, he slapped her hard across the face. When she started to scream, he covered her mouth and pulled her behind the dumpster. His thoughts went to all the times she had yelled at him, which made him angrier. Hunter continued to beat on her, then pinned her to the ground and ripped at her clothes. Stephanie tried to fight back as best as she could, but Hunter was much larger than she was. There was no way she could beat him, but she tried anyway. She was getting weak and started to feel like her body would just give up any second. When Hunter was through, he left her there, lying on the cold, wet ground.  
  
"Isn't anyone tryin to find me?  
  
Won't somebody come take me home  
  
It's a damn cold night  
  
Trying to figure out this life  
  
Wont you take me by the hand  
  
Take me somewhere new  
  
I don't know who you are  
  
But I... I'm with you  
  
I'm with you"  
  
When Chris got out of the shower, the arena was practically deserted. There were very few people left. He got his things together, then started to walk outside. All he wanted to do was go to his hotel room and rest. Chris walked towards his car whistling quietly to himself, then stopped dead in his tracks. 'What was that?' he thought to himself. He looked around, but didn't see anything. He shrugged, thinking he was just hearing things. He started to walk again, but stopped once more when he heard the noise again. This time it was a little louder. It sounded like quiet whimpering. The sound of that small voice made his stomach twist into knots. Chris swallowed hard, and walked toward the voice.  
  
"Is anybody out there?"  
  
As Chris took a few more steps, the whimpering and crying got louder. He walked beside the dumpster and heard the crying clearly. 'I must be close', he thought. That's when he looked down at the ground. Chris stood in complete horror at the sight in front of him. He covered his mouth then knelt down beside the tattered body on the ground, curled in a little ball.  
  
"Oh my god, Stephanie, w-what happened?" Chris asked. Although he had a pretty good idea what had happened to her. She was bruised all over and her clothes were torn to pieces.  
  
Stephanie didn't reply. She was in too much pain and she was too scared to talk. Chris slowly got the hair out of her face and winced at what he saw. She had a black eye and her face was bloody. He helped her sit up slowly, then he reached into his bag and pulled out one of the jackets he had brought. He wrapped it around her.  
  
Stephanie broke down into sobs and started to cling to Chris. He immediately put his arms around her and rocked her slowly. Chris felt tears start to sting his eyes, but he couldn't cry. He had to stay strong for Stephanie. He couldn't break down now. It would just scare her. He slowly pulled away and looked into her eyes.  
  
"Stephy, honey, let me take you back to my hotel ok? I'll clean you up. I won't hurt you. I promise."  
  
Stephanie wiped at her eyes and nodded slowly. He helped her up and into his car.  
  
The drive to the hotel was spent in silence, except for the occasional sniff from Stephanie.  
  
Chris checked in and took Stephanie up to his room. He dug through his bag and pulled out one of his "I'm the King of the World, and You Live In It Junior" t-shirts and a pair of sweat pants. He nodded towards the shower. "You can go ahead and shower if you want. Here are some dry clothes."  
  
Stephanie accepted the clothes and slowly walked into the bathroom, where she broke into sobs again. She grabbed a plastic bag and put her torn clothes in it. Wiping away her tears, she slowly climbed into the shower and let the hot water pour over her. She scrubbed and scrubbed but couldn't seem to get that dirty feeling to go away. Stephanie leaned back and slowly slid down the wall of the shower and let the tears pour from her eyes. After about 10 minutes, she got out. She dried off and put on the dry clothes Chris gave her.  
  
Chris looked up when he saw Stephanie come out of the bathroom. She had large gashes all over her, some of which were still bleeding. She sat down on the end of his bed and started crying again.  
  
Chris sat next to her and put one of his arms around her. "Steph, who did this to you?"  
  
Between sobbing and shivering, she could barely talk. "I-I should have s- stopped him. But.t-too strong." Remembering the nights events, Stephanie started to cry harder.  
  
Chris gently rocked her back and forth, then looked into her eyes. Stephanie didn't answer his question, but he didn't push it out of her. She probably wasn't ready to talk about it. "Steph, honey, this is not your fault, ok? You need to go to the hospital. You trust me, right?"  
  
She simply nodded.  
  
Chris grabbed the clothes that were in the plastic bag and carried her down to his car. On the drive to the hospital, Chris started to think. He thought about how much he wanted to beat the person who did this to Stephanie. On screen, Chris was supposed to hate Stephanie, but that was far from the truth. He had always looked at her as a good person. She didn't deserve the kind of treatment she received tonight. Sometimes she would come to shows with bruises on her, but he wouldn't ask. He didn't want to seem like he was nosy. But tonight was different. This guy had crossed a line he would wish he'd never crossed.  
  
After checking Stephanie into the hospital, he paced back and forth in the waiting room. The doctors wouldn't let him come with them.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, a doctor walked up to Chris. Chris jumped up immediately. "How is Stephanie? Is she going to be ok? What kind of injuries does she have?"  
  
"Your friend is a very lucky girl. She is scratched up and bruised, but she doesn't have any broken bones. We're going to run a few tests, and she should probably be good to go in the morning."  
  
Chris sighed quietly. "Can I see her?"  
  
The doctor nodded and led Chris to Stephanie's room. When Chris walked in, his heart broke into a thousand pieces. The bruises were starting to get darker.  
  
Stephanie looked up at him momentarily, then looked back down so he wouldn't see that she was crying. Chris sat down in the chair next to her bed and held her hand.  
  
After several moments of sobbing, Stephanie looked up at Chris and said quietly, "I should have stopped him."  
  
Chris reached over and gently caressed her cheek. "Stephanie, listen to me. Sweetie, this is not your fault, ok? You had no control over what happened. You're a very strong girl Steph, but there is no way you could have defended yourself against a guy." He paused for a few moments. "You don't have to tell me right now, but Steph, who did this to you?"  
  
Tears filled her eyes once again. "Hunter," she whispered.  
  
Chris cursed under his breath silently. Hunter. Of course. Who else would do something like this?  
  
Chris continued to hold Stephanie's hand, then looked into her eyes. Stephanie looked back and she immediately saw the pain and anger that filled his eyes.  
  
"He won't ever do it again. I won't let him anywhere near you. I promise you that."  
  
For the first time that day, Stephanie smiled a little. "Why are you being so nice to me Chris? You're supposed to hate me."  
  
He shook his head. "I've never hated you, Steph. I think you're a wonderful girl. I'm going to take care of you and I'm going to make sure Hunter never gets near you again." He gently smoothed down her hair and ran his hand lightly over her cheek. "Now get some rest. You need it. Don't worry. I'll be here right by your side."  
  
Stephanie was asleep within minutes. 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own anybody. Also, I'm using the wrestler's real names, unless I don't know them. HHH= Paul Levesque  
  
  
  
When Stephanie woke up the next morning, she noticed that Chris was still there with her. Thoughts started to run through her head. Why did Chris stay with her? Why was he so willing to help her out? Did he like her? Stephanie laughed out loud at the last thought. iThere's no way he could like me/i, she thought.  
  
A few moments later, Chris woke up from his uncomfortable position on the chair he was sitting on. He looked up at Stephanie and inwardly cringed. Her bruises were getting darker and she still had deep cuts all over her. Stephanie saw that look on his face and shook her head slowly. "Feeling bad won't get you anywhere, Chris. I'm fine."  
  
He sighed in defeat, then nodded. "As long as you are ok, I'll be ok."  
  
The two talked for a while, then Stephanie complained that her stomach was growling and she refused to eat the hospital food, so Chris offered to go out and get her some breakfast.  
  
"Are you sure you'll be ok while I'm gone?"  
  
"Yes, Chris, I'll be fine. I promise."  
  
"Ok Princess. I'll be back shortly."  
  
Stephanie watched Chris walk out the door then smiled. She was impressed with how sweet he could be. Stephanie started to think about all the nice things he had done for her when he found her behind the dumpster. She never knew that he could care about anybody that much, especially her. She then realized that Chris wasn't nearly as bad as she had always thought he was. Stephanie's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a nurse come into the room.  
  
"Someone is here to see you, Miss McMahon."  
  
Stephanie nodded, wondering who it could be. She wasn't really in the mood for visitors right now.  
  
Moments later, Paul walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Stephanie's eyes widened when she saw who had just walked into her room. She tried to sit up as best as she could.  
  
"What are you doing here, Paul?"  
  
"Oh, I just came to see how my lovely girlfriend was doing."  
  
Stephanie felt her face turn red with anger. "You idiot! You are the reason I'm here right now. If it weren't for Chris, I could be dead, all because of YOU!"  
  
"Chris? Chris Irvine?"  
  
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Yes, Chris Irvine, you big dope. What other Chris' are there besides Benoit and Nowinski?" She was seriously starting to grow impatient with him, and to be honest, she was scared as well. She was silently hoping that Chris would return soon.  
  
"Why in the world would Chris come to save you? He doesn't care about you Steph. He never has and he never will. He's just an egotistical little boy. Sorry to break it to you but you're stuck with me young lady."  
  
Feeling a sudden rush of confidence and bravery, Stephanie sat up further in her hospital bed. "I'm sorry Paul, but you don't control my life. I do. And you know what? Last night was the last straw." She felt her voice start to rise with each word. "And you know what else? We're through. I want nothing to do with you." She started to shake her finger at Paul. "And don't you dare talk about Chris like that. He is more of a man than you will EVER be."  
  
Filled with rage, Paul rushed over to Stephanie and pushed her down against the bed. "We're not through until I say we're through, got it?" Stephanie started to whimper quietly. She hated that Paul made her feel so weak, but there was no way she could fight against him. He'd tear her apart.  
  
Hunter started to tighten his grip around Stephanie's arms, but was suddenly pulled away from her and whirled around. He came face to face with a very angry Chris.  
  
"I suggest you never touch her again, junior," Chris said through clenched teeth. Without giving Paul time to say anything in return, Chris grabbed Paul and tossed him out the door, demanding that he be escorted from the building.  
  
When Chris got back into the room, he saw that Stephanie was curled up in a little ball with tears flowing from her eyes.  
  
He immediately sat down beside her and held her hand. He wiped the tears from her eyes and gently tucked some of her hair behind her ear.  
  
"I am so sorry Steph. If I would have got here sooner, I probably could have stopped him from coming in here. I'm going to be more careful from now on. I wouldn't let Paul hurt you again."  
  
Stephanie's crying started to die down a little. She looked up at Chris. "I really don't know why you are being so nice to me, but I appreciate it. In case you didn't hear, I dumped Hunter. I assume I'm going to be out for several weeks because of this, but it's good to know that I'll have you to look after me."  
  
Chris smiled then nodded a little. "Steph, I-um, I don't want you going back home by yourself, so I was going to ask Vince to give me some time off so I could take care of you."  
  
Stephanie sat up, shocked. "Chris, thank you, but I can manage-"  
  
Chris held his hands up. "You're hurt badly Steph. Please, just let me take care of you. I won't be able to concentrate on anything if I know you are out there by yourself."  
  
Steph sighed quietly, then winced at the pain that it caused. "Ok Chris, if you insist."  
  
Minutes later, Chris was on the phone with Vince asking permission to take some time off from work to take care of Stephanie. Vince didn't seem to have any problem with it.  
  
Chris told Stephanie that Vince had agreed. Steph reached over and grabbed Chris' hand. "Thank you," she said quietly.  
  
He nodded slightly. Chris noticed Stephanie was falling asleep, so he waited until after she was asleep to speak. "Anything for you," he finally said. 


End file.
